Wheelhouse

I'd like to take a few minutes of your time to talk to you about "The Commish." It was a show that ran in prime-time on the ABC Network from 1991 to 1995. Actor Michael Chiklis (of "The Shield" fame) experienced his first big TV break from this show after a movie career that appeared to fizzle after the John Belushi biopic "Wired."

The basis of the series was the exploits of a good-hearted police commissioner named Tony Scali in charge of a small-town in upstate New York. It was described as "offbeat," and by all accounts it was well-made, but that kind of appeal is hardly sure footing in today's TV programming environment. With an estimable supporting cast, including such vets as Teresa Saldana and David Paymer, it was well received, but after ABC started shuffling the time slot around in 1994, it started to hemorrhage viewers and...

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